Editing 1088 (section)

=== By topic ===

==== Arts and Culture ====
* The ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]'' is published by the Chinese [[polymath]] scientist and statesman [[Shen Kuo]]. His book represents the earliest known writing about the [[magnetic]] [[compass]], [[movable type]] [[printing]], experimentation with the [[camera obscura]] only decades after [[Ibn al-Haytham|Hasan ibn al-Haytham]], which includes many different fields of study in [[essay]] and [[encyclopedic]] form, including [[geology]], [[astronomy]], [[archaeology]], [[mathematics]], [[pharmacology]], [[magnetism]], [[geography]], [[optics]], [[hydraulics]], [[economics]], [[military strategy]], [[philosophy]], etc. Some of Shen's most advanced theories include [[geomorphology]] and [[climate variability]], while he improves [[Chinese astronomy]], by fixing the position of the [[pole star]] and correcting the [[moon|lunar]] error, by plotting its [[orbit]]al course every night for a continuum of five years. Shen's book is also the first to describe the [[drydock]] in [[China]] – and discusses the advantages of the recent invention of the canal [[pound lock]], over the old [[flash lock]].
* [[Su Song]], Chinese polymath scientist and statesman, invents the pilot model for his [[astronomical clock|astronomical]] [[clock tower]] constructed in [[Kaifeng]]. It features an [[escapement]] mechanism –  and the world's oldest known power-transmitting [[chain drive]] to operate the [[armillary sphere]], opening doors, and mechanical-driven [[mannequin]]s, that would rotate in shifts to announce the time on [[:wikt:plaque|plaque]]s.

==== Education ====
* The oldest extant university, the [[University of Bologna]], is founded in [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Italy]] (approximate date).

==== Geology ====
* [[April 16]] &ndash; The 6.5 {{M|s|link=y}} [[1088 Tmogvi earthquake|Tmogvi earthquake]] affects the southern provinces of [[Kingdom of Georgia|Georgia]], which causes the destruction of the castle of [[Tmogvi]] and many deaths.

==== Religion ====
* [[March 12]] &ndash; Pope [[Pope Urban II|Urban II]] (Urbanus) succeeds [[Pope Victor III|Victor III]] as the 159th [[pope]] of the [[Catholic Church]] in [[Rome]].</onlyinclude>